Inevitable
by caskettnana
Summary: Early S4. "A few more splashes and then it hits him, he's absolutely, utterly, ridiculously, head over heels in love with Kate Beckett. And he has to act on it before he goes insane."


_**Inevitable**_

_Here's my second fanfic. If you like this one then you can check my first one Breathe._

_Please, give it a chance and enjoy! :)_

_I apologize for any mistakes you may found. _

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><p>It's getting completely out of hand.<p>

Kate Beckett has to fight the urge to just go hide somewhere in the loft, or just run far away from there with no explanation to why or, maybe she could make something up, tell him she has something she has to do urgently and go home and never get out of there, ever.

Castle had invited her earlier in the week for a movie night at his home, said she was working too hard, that she seemed more tired than normal, that they had been going through a long, difficult case to solve and she needed some quality time to relax and he had to be sure she'd do it, so here she is now. Sitting beside him on his sinful comfortable couch, respectable space between them but just enough for her to smell his delicious cologne and get lost in it, after a moan worthy dinner Castle had prepared for them and a glass of red wine.

Kate decided not to chance clothes after she left the precinct to go to his place. Nevertheless, she feels extremely comfortable wearing her favorite tight jeans, a blue v-neck blouse and her feet are bare except for the black socks she kept on, her high heels on the floor by the couch. While Rick wears a snug pair of grey baggy pants, a black t-shirt and socks.

_The Notebook_ is playing on the TV in front of them, and it's just making it difficult for her to just keep her breathing even, _who chose it anyway?_ Kate thinks. The movie is heartrendingly beautiful, she's seen it a few times before, but right now, at this moment, is just destroying her. With Rick Castle by her side, the man she has hidden feelings for, frustratingly strong feelings that just drives her more and more insane with every second that passes when she's with him or even when she's alone at night in her apartment thinking about this infuriating man-child.

And to top that, the movie is currently on _that_ part, the one where Noah and Allie meet again after several years apart and have a beautiful moment of passion and Kate is pretty sure if it weren't for the darkness of the room and the noise coming from the TV, Castle could see her face getting flushed and redder by the minute and her heart beating so fast it might as well burst out of her chest.

Oh, she's so done. She's in so deep already in this, whatever this is, with no chance to go back to her comfort zone, inside the walls she built to keep the pain from getting too close to her, from getting her hurt, because there are only traces, stacks of dust of its bricks now. She's just still a bit scared to take the next step towards what feels inevitable now. Why, she's not sure.

From time to time Kate casts shy little glances over to her partner to see if she's not the only one feeling so flustered, fidgety, so on edge by being so close to each other, in this moment, yet so far. And she's not disappointed when she catches him stirring uncomfortably around his spot on the couch and running his most likely sweaty hands through his now adorably disheveled hair.

She wants so bad to just fix it for him. Wants to just grab his face in both hands and- _oh, don't even go there Kate_, she sternly tells herself inwardly.

By the time the film is getting to the end, Rick stands up from his place on the couch and goes to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water, not before also offering one to her wich she gladly accepts because, really, how could she not. Because all of a sudden her mouth is extremely dry and the skin of her neck is covered with sweat. _Oh God, could this get any awkward._

Neither of them says a word minutes after the film ends. Both just sit there, staring straight at the TV where the credits are still rolling with a soft background song playing.

It's only when the screen is pitch black and complete silence fills the room that Rick resolves to speak, " So...uh...wanna watch another one? You get to choose now."

Kate snaps out of her reverie with the sound of his voice and immediately turns her head to look at him trough wide eyes. " Hmm? Uh, no I thought maybe we could just sit here and...," Kate trails off suddenly feeling her heart beating faster all over again and a whole lot nervous.

"And?" he prompts.

"Talk?" Kate blurts out remembering herself to just get a grip and calm the _hell_ down.

"Yeah, of course, yeah. So, ice cream?"

"That'd be great, thanks."

Rick nods vigorously, stands up and starts walking towards the kitchen. Once there, he takes the box of chocolate flavored ice cream from the fridge and grabs two spoons from the drawer and places everything on the counter. Castle takes a minute to just rub his hands up and town his face and try to even his heart rate. _Breathe in, breathe out,_ he keeps chanting to himself till it slows. With his back to where Kate is, Rick leans into the sink to splash his face with cold water. Just in case.

God help him, he can't even look at this woman without wanting to kiss those cherry pink lips of hers and leave her breathless, anymore. He can't be near her without letting her scent wash all coherent thoughts away from his mind. Can't talk without stammering, stumbling ungracefully upon his words.

He wants her. He yearns for her. And _badly_. More than he ever did.

A few more splashes and then it hits him, he's absolutely, utterly, ridiculously, head over heels in love with Kate Beckett. And he has to act on it before he goes insane.

Shaking all those thoughts away for a moment, he whips a clean cloth over his water-drops-covered face before collecting the needed stuff and returning to the living room.

Castle sits on the couch, now closer to where Kate was than before, and hands her a spoon. With a brief, not quite there, brush of distinct warm skins they both jump a little on their spot and Kate instantly removes her hand to herself like she had just been burned.

Goosebumps erupts from within both their insides as they lock wide, desperate eyes with each other and muteness fills their surroundings once again. Not even a second passes and they're already clearing their throats, trying to just stop daydreaming, just _focus_.

Leaning against the back of the couch, Rick pops the lid of the ice cream box open and settles it between them. For mere seconds, he just stares into the inside of the box, not sure what to do the next. Rick knows what he _wants_ to do next, he's just not certain if he _should_.

The more he thinks about it, the more he restrains himself from doing it.

He just wants to, needs to know how it feels like to have her lips pressed against his, the taste of her mouth, the tip of her tongue against his own. God, he craves it. And one thing he's sure, is that once he does know how it that all feels like, he's going to be ruined for any other woman, any other taste that exists in the whole freaking planet. _Ruined_.

Well, he already knows how it feels like, from that undercover kiss months back, but that was it, undercover. It was hot, yes, but hurried and it didn't happen for the right reasons.Now, he doesn't want that, he wants _real._ He hungers for _true_. He wants it willingly, wants her to invest in it, both of them. That he hasn't tasted _yet_.

Rick watches her with hungry eyes as she fills her spoon with the chocolate ice cream and puts it into her _oh so irresistible_ mouth. He can't move, can't do anything else other than just stare, stare at this beautiful, gorgeous woman he's so crazy about, already expecting what's coming next, that now all so wonted eye-roll and the _staring is still creepy, Castle_ say.

He's going to go for it. The rest be damned.

Before Rick can make up his mind, he says, " Hey, Kate?"

Kate, who was too far away dreaming, chocks out on the icy good she has inside her mouth when he speaks up. "Uh?" she asks shortly. confused.

"I, uh, I'm going to do something that doesn't involve talking. So, could you continue not to say anything for a moment?" Rick asks, at first hesitantly, then getting more confident, more sure.

"Wha-what?" she inquiries, feeling lightheaded, dizzy for not knowing what this man he's trying to say, cause he's certainly not making any sense at all. Or she's just still too out of this world to comprehend.

"Just, please, tell me if you could do that or not." He tells her gently, yet starting to fell desperate.

"Uh, yeah," she starts, stares intently into his eyes, searching for what's hidden there, sees them already solely focused on her and continues, confidently "Okay."

Castle takes the spoon from its place between her fingers, senses her shiver, places it on the table in front of them along with his spoon and the box of ice cream after closing the lid.

Unhurriedly, ever so slowly Rick inches closer to her on the couch, lifts his right hand from his side to gently make contact with the soft skin of her cheek, skims his thumb back and forth below her eye, a gentle caress that makes butterflies grow inside her belly.

Her eyes move uncontrollably to his eyes down to his mouth, one time, twice and again. She's confused, shocked, has no idea what's happening right now, her mind is spinning, racing with numerous possibilities. Yet, she doesn't have the mind to stop it.

_Just relax, Kate. Let it be, for once in your life,_ her subconscious tells her.

He burrows his eyes into hers then, his face focused on some goal he's trying to achieve. Kate can clearly see something more shimmering in his eyes, the most beautiful pair of blue eyes she's ever seen, something that could be a mixture of want, awe, adoration. _Oh God_.

The hand that was on her cheek starts to move lower until it's firmly placed and holding the back of her neck. Her breath catches, her eyes widen, her lips slightly part on its own accord.

When he moves his face closer, noses almost brushing, she feels his warm breath lingering on her cheek, her eyes start to close from anticipation, her heart starts pounding violently against her rib cage, so violently she might has well have an heart attack at this moment.

His face gets closer, closer, until their foreheads kiss. Rick brushes his nose with hers, closes his eyes now as well, little Eskimo kisses making her blush, before and finally his soft lips touches her velvet ones.

_Oh, this is heavenly._

At first, she doesn't respond, just keeps waiting to see what happens next, what is next move is. But when his tongue makes contact with her lower lip, she's lost in it. She _dives_ in.

Kate moves her tights closer to his on the couch and cocoons her hand in the napes of hair on the back of his head, massages it with her able fingers. At that she hears a low but audible moan escape his lips, and she swallows it, steals it for herself.

She's flying, she feels free.

This, this is real and it feels so much better, more than before. It's like walking on paradise. Well, that was _cheesy._ Still he needs more. Therefore, Rick grabs a fistful of her hair, opens his mouth wider and wider, asks for her permission for more with more of his tongue.

He's dreaming, he has to be. It's the only explanation for why she's letting him in, inviting him into such an heavenly place. Their tongues meet, dance a slow, sensual tango together. The kiss gets rougher and rougher by the second, persistent, desperate. So, he tries to slow it down, removing his mouth from hers for a moment, smirks to himself when he sees her chasing it, wanting it back like she owns it, just to pull her bottom lip between his afterwards. He nips and pulls, sucks on it and lavishes it then soothes the bruised flesh with a sweep of his tongue.

She can't do anything else than imitate his motions and do the same, give him what he gave her. Kate leans back a little and catches his top lip in between her own, then between her teeth, following his delicious ministrations.

Then, all of a sudden, his lips are no longer on hers, nor his tongue or his teeth. Instead, Rick is moving them to her neck, first ghosting his hot breath in her ear then sucking her earlobe into the wet, warm cavern of his mouth.

The goosebumps, the butterflies, the racing heart returns in full force for Kate with what this man, her partner, her best friend, is doing to her. Only marvelous things, that's for sure. She doesn't want this to end, ever.

Rick sucks on the flesh of her neck, on one side then the other, for what seems like hours but are only mere seconds. This slow, sensual, delicious dance they're doing feels good, the most right thing to do.

When he pulls back, eyes opening slowly like he just woke up from sleep, she's biting her lip, the way that drives him crazy every single time, and he just wants to kiss her, again and again. She's watching him through her eyelashes with glassy hazel eyes and a shy look that makes him smile. _Oh, she's adorable and I can't get enough of her,_ he concludes.

Seconds after they catch their breaths and before one of them can say anything, Castle takes his time trailing butterfly kisses on her lips up her cheeks, her eyelids then resting on her forehead. He leaves the message crystal clear with no actual words needed, _I cherish you_.

Kate gets it, what he's not saying but trying to demonstrate in his own way and it terrifies her, scares the hell out of her. She isn't ready, or maybe she is, but they have things, important stuff they need to talk about, to figure out how to live around it, before this, them goes any further.

However, Kate decides to leave the inevitable discussion for later and enjoy the moment, their first intimate, wonderful moment.

The storm can come later.

She senses tears threatening to fall when Rick gives her his smile, that beautiful, genuine smile that's reserved only for her. He's such a good man, a loving son, a caring father and faithful partner and friend, that she can't help but feel like he deserves so much better than her, less broken, less damaged, more whole.

As if able to read her mind, Castle drags all her insecurities away when he pushes an errant hair thread from her face behind her ear while looking at her so fondly, so full of _hope_. And she can't deny him anything at this moment when he looks at her like that.

Kate gives him a small yet breathtaking smile that makes him love her a little bit more if that's possible.

They keep watching each other's shy smiles, bright shiny eyes, pink blushed cheeks for endless minutes. In that moment, they are the only two people in the world who just found something new and amazing in each other.

"Again?" Rick asks her, hopeful blue eyes roaming her face.

"Hmm hmm," she replies breathlessly.

Rick chuckles, once, twice, until they're both laughing over their selves.

Kate is still laughing quietly when his lips presses against hers once more and both smile into the kiss.

They share nothing more than mind-blowing, heart shattering, deep kisses for the rest of the night. And they both are perfectly okay with it, because it's them and it's more than just countless touches of two pairs of lips. It's real and it's _magical_.

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><p><em>I hope you enjoyed this little piece as much as I did writing it.<em>

_I'd really appreciate if you write your reviews to let me know what you think and what I could do to get it better. _

_Thank you. _


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